We are excited for the new academic year and want to help you prepare your Trac application for the new semester, with this week's Newsletter.

You’ll find that it is filled with new information, helpful hints and tips, and even some new feature that you can explore. We want this newsletter to be valuable for you so please, share your feedback and as always please let us know if you have any questions.

An important note: Your imports contain student registrations specific to a term, the timing between changing your Term Code and importing your registrations is important.

The First step is to have your IT updated the Student and Course Files to your server or the SFTP site

If it is for the first time or have made any changes to the files then IT will need to send Redrock a sample file to create or update your import script.

The Second step, Change the Term Number

As a SysAdmin- Go to the Trac Navigation -> Tracman Icon -> Utilities and Prefs -> System Prefs Tab -> CurrentTerm -> Change to the new term number -> Save.

The Third step, Change Semester Dates

As a SysAdmin- Go to the Trac Navigation -> Tracman Icon -> Utilities and Prefs -> System Prefs Tab -> SemesterStart/ SemesterEnd -> Change to the new semester start and end date -> Save.

To view the status of you import, click on View Import Status -> click on Execute -> this will display if it has completed.

The Fifth step is to Activate Sections

As a Center Profile Admin- Go to the Trac Navigation -> Search Glass -> Center Profile -> click on you Profile -> Sections -> Subcenter Options -> Click on the subcenter name -> Check box in the middle to activate the sections OR to add all the sections to the center Click on Subcenter Options -> Click on “Add These to (Center Name)”.

The next steps are optional since your center may or may not utilize these preferences

As a SysAdmin to copy the consultant specialties from previous term to the new term- Go to the Trac Navigation -> Tracman Icon -> Utilities and Prefs -> Custom Utility -> Standard -> Copy Specialties -> Add the previous Term and the current term -> Execute.

We hope that you find this newsletter helpful and as always if you have any questions on this or any other features, please feel free to let us by emailing Helpdesk@go-redrock.com or submitting a ticket. Enter any comments below.

Text Alerts: Sending Text Messages Through Your Trac System

Did you know that 90% of text messages are read within 10 minutes? How about that on average people will look at their phones 150 times a day? This makes it an effective way to communicate important information to students, such as appointment confirmation, appointment reminder, if an appointment gets cancelled or even just general information that you would like to inform groups of students. There are many ways to communicate with your students, but when it comes to reaching them everywhere in the quickest amount of time, nothing beats text messaging.

In this Newsletter we will take an in-depth look at the TextAlerts module and how it allows notifications to be sent to students via Text messages. If a student decides to opt in to the program, they can send an activation code to an address determined by your campus, and receive appointment reminders, cancellation notifications, or confirmations via Text messages. Front Desk workers or Consultants can also send quick text messages directly off your Center’s Log Listing, to notify students to come to a different appointment location, of if there is a delay in start time, or a last minute cancellation.

TextAlert Requirements

In order to utilize TextAlerts in your Trac System, you need to have:

Trac 4.0 Web and Engine updates after February 21, 2011

Current Maintenance Agreement with Redrock Support

Trac Server MUST have the ability to make outbound http/https connections to “msgtrac.com”

Trac Server MUST have the ability to receive incoming http/https connections from 63.224.138.155

If your server currently does not meet these requirements, a discussion between your campus’ IT and Redrock Software may be needed to make sure the correct connections are being made.

TextAlert Activation

Once the TextAlert Module has been purchased, you will need to contact Redrock Support to activate the module on your Trac System. After the module has been activated, students will have the ability to activate their text message alerts when they log in to the Trac System.

Because text messaging rates may apply to your students, they must request to receive the text message alerts. When the student logs in to the Trac System they will have a new option in the upper-right corner of their main menu. This new section allows the students to activate the TextAlerts for themselves, by clicking the “Activate” checkbox.

The TextAlert setup options will now appear and the student will receive a unique Activation Code. The Activation Code is requested from the server at msgtrac.com, so it may take a few seconds to generate. The code is a unique email address that is set up to accept text messages.

Along with receiving an Activation code, the student will also be able to set up their individual SMS Settings and determine how many minutes in advance of their appointment they would like to receive a TextAlert regarding their appointments and choose which notifications they would like to receive as Text Messages. Click “Save Settings” to complete this step.

To complete the setup process for TextAlerts, the student must send a text message from their mobile device to the email address provided with the unique Activation Code (please note that this code does expire within the hour, so if they do not use it within that time frame they will need to generate a new code). The body of the text is not necessary and has no effect on the setup and activation process.

By sending any text message to the displayed email address, the student agrees that they would like to receive the TextAlerts from the Trac Application and that the student is responsible for any and all text messaging rates imposed by their service provider.

Your Trac System will then send a confirmation message to the student to let them know that their account is now set up to receive Text Alerts.

Now that the student has opted-in to receive Text Messages, when the student has a scheduled appointment with a consultant, your Trac System will now alert the student of their upcoming appointment via Text Alert according to the settings the student chose in the setup process.

Generating Activation Codes for Students

If your students do not have access to log in to your Trac System, it is possible for other Users to still be able to generate an Activation code for Students. All they need is the correct permission that can be found by going to the Trac Navigation -> Search Glass -> Center Profiles -> Select your Profile -> Group Access tab -> Select the group that you would like to generate codes for students -> Admin/Modules tab -> Check the box for “Allow User to Generate Activation Code for Student” -> Click Save. This is also where you can set default text to the student from the Log Listing that we will take a look at next.

Once this has been activated, Users in that group will be able to pull up any Student Profile and be able to generate an Activation Code for the student to opt-in.

Kiosks and TextAlerts

When setting up a Kiosk, there is also an option that allows students to leave the center after they have logged in and receive a text message when the center is ready to see the student. This setting can be found in the Kiosk setup:

When this setting is activated for the Kiosk and a student logs in to that Kiosk, it will ask them if they would like to “leave and be notified when the center is ready to see you”:

If they click “Yes” it will have them confirm their number if they have already opted in to receive TextAlerts and if they haven’t already opted-in, it will generate an activation code so they can opt-in at that time. This is a great way for students to be able to generate the Activation Code themselves and opt-in to receive text messages from your Center. Check out below to see how you can send a message to a student once they have logged in and opted to receive a text message.

Sending Text Messages to Students Currently in Your Center

When a Student is logged in to your Center and when looking at the Log Listing you can easily identify the students that have opted in, because there will be a phone icon just to the right of their name.

When you click on that phone icon, a text box will appear that will allow you to send a custom (or default as shown above in group settings) directly to the student’s phone.

Sending Emails and Texts

When sending out manual emails in your Trac System, you also have the ability to send that email as a Text Message to all of the students on your list that have opted in to receive TextAlerts.

First we will start by pulling up a student list, once that Student Listing is open you can send an email by going to List Options -> Send HTML Note -> Check the “Email” and “SMS Text” box to enter in a custom message that can be sent as both an email and a text.

PLEASE NOTE: A text message will only be sent to the students in that list that have opted in to receive TextAlerts, if they have not opted in then they will only receive an email reminder!

More Questions?

If you have any questions about adding custom questions you can reach us by visiting https://helpdesk.go-redrock.com. As well as you can contact our sales representative, Laura Reed, for any purchasing information by emailing Sales@go-redrock.com. Definitely let us know if you have any additional questions or if there is anything else that we can do for you.

Mobile View: The Trac System Literally at Your Fingertips!

Technology can be a powerful tool for transforming learning. In a society where mobile devices can be found on every person, it is vital that the Trac System be accessible from all devices whether that is a computer, Ipad, Tablet, or phone. In this Newsletter, we will be showcasing the MobileView Module and how it applies to your Trac System.

DESKTOP vs. MOBILE

Currently when students log in from their desktop, they will be presented with a screen similar to the one below (depending on what you choose to let your student’s access):

AND, this is what it looks like for this same student but with MobileView activated on their Trac System and accessed from a Mobile Device:

As you can see when accessing the Trac System from a mobile device, the Main Menu is a lot more simplified and easy to use depending on what the student needs to access. Now we will take a look into what these different views will look like in MobileView.

WELCOME MESSAGE

This is where any custom welcome message or images can be displayed for your students. When in MobileView the student just needs to simply click on “Welcome!” and it will display the Welcome message below the tab:

SEARCH AVAILABILITY

When students click on this link it will take them to the “Search Availability” screen where they can enter the search criteria to find open availabilities with consultants. Below is what the Search Screen looks like as well as the Availability screen:

CONFIRM BIO

This option allows the students to be able to confirm their contact information in the Trac System. It will just pull up a screen that allows them to verify that their information is correct within the system.

RESOURCES

This allows the students to see all of their resources that are available in the Center(s). They can look at this list ahead of time to see what will be available when they come in to the Center. This lets them know what resources are either available or checked out.

VISIT HISTORY

Students can log in to the system at any time and view information about all of their visits. By clicking on this tab students are able to see details about all of their visits to any of the Centers that they have permission to view.

DOCUMENTS

By clicking on this tab students are able to view documents that have been uploaded to their student profile, as well as have the ability to upload new documents if given the correct permissions. Below you will see what a student sees when looking at the “Documents” tab in MobileView.

MESSAGES

Finally, students can click on the messages tab to view all of the messages that have been sent out. These can be confirmation emails about appointments, reminder emails of upcoming appointments and then if they miss or cancel an appointment they would receive an email about that as well. This tab allows them to quickly check all of their messages.

The MobileView module provides an easier way for students/consultants to navigate through the Trac System to check their schedules, book appointments, and view their appointment/visit history. If you have any questions about MobileView you can reach us by visiting https://helpdesk.go-redrock.com. As well as you can contact our sales representative Laura Reed, for any purchasing information by emailing Sales@go-redrock.com. Definitely let us know if you have any additional questions or if there is anything else that we can do for you.

CREATING CUSTOM QUESTIONS

In this Newsletter we will take a closer look at Center Profile “Custom Fields” Tab and how you can use it to create custom questions that appear when the students log in/out or in the Visit Entry window.

These questions are a perfect way to get additional feedback from the students when they log in or when they are entering the visit notes from the Visit Entry Window.

ADDING A QUESTION

To add a question, go to the Trac Navigation > Hover over the Search Glass > click on your Center Profile > click on the Prefs Tab > Custom Fields > select an available “Custom Visit Field” > enter the question, choices and where you want it to appear > then save.

Name/Prompt: Is the question you want to appear

Type:Alpha: will display as a drop down with you choices

Text: will allow the student to type in their own answer

Choice: Needs to have the answers to your questions if you select the type as “Alpha”

Required Box: The question must be answered in order to continue to Log In/Out

Appears: Will allow you to display the question on the Log In, Log Out or Visit Entry

Access Option: Determines who can view the answers to the question.

QUESTION LOCATION

Here are a few examples of where the custom question can appear within your Trac system.

More Questions?

We hope that you find this newsletter helpful and as always if you have any questions on this or any other features, please feel free to let us by emailing Helpdesk@go-redrock.com or submitting a ticket. Enter any comments below.

CUSTOMIZING YOUR TRAC SYSTEM IN 5 EASY STEPS

In this week’s Newsletter we will be discussing how to customize your Trac System. We will talk about how to upload your Campus Logo and Name, edit the Main Menu, add your campus colors and customize Notices on the Main Menu for different Users of your Trac System. As System Administrators there are many ways that you can customize your Trac system and we are here to show you!

UPLOAD CAMPUS LOGO AND ADD CAMPUS NAME

The first and easiest way to customize your Trac System is to upload your campus Logo. This can be done by going to the Trac Navigation -> TracMan Icon -> Utilities and Prefs -> Custom Utility tab -> Change the dropdown from “Standard” to “SysAdmin” -> Upload Campus Logo -> Execute. This will bring up a page asking you to find the logo, and upload it to your System.

NOTE: Make sure that the height of the image does not exceed 75 pixels and the width does not exceed 350 pixels, for optimal appearance.

After the Logo has been updated you can also add your Campus Name so it will appear beneath the Logo. To do this you will need to go to the Trac Navigation -> TracMan Icon -> Utilities and Prefs -> System Prefs tab -> Search for “Campus Name” -> Add Campus Name and click Save. The Campus Name will appear in the upper-right corner of the Trac System under the school logo. This is a global name for all users across all profiles. Typically the name of your College or University is entered here because it applies to all profiles.

CUSTOMIZE CAMPUS COLORS

Want to customize the colors in your Trac system to match your School colors? To change this setting you will need to go to the Trac Navigation -> TracMan Icon -> Utilities and Prefs -> System Prefs tab -> Search for “campusColorData” -> Here you will be able to adjust the colors of the title bar, the title text, the window background, and the window drop shadow. You can use the preview box to test out your changes, and once you have decided on the color scheme just click “Save” to apply the changes to your system.

EDIT THE MAIN MENU

Another great way to customize your Trac System is to edit the Main Menu with either a welcome message or instructions for your Users. Please keep in mind that in order to edit the Main Menu, you must be logged in as a System Administrator. Once logged in as a SysAdmin you will see a pencil icon on the lower left corner of the Main Menu. When you click on that icon it will open a window that allows you to create a custom message.

Some of the options available to you when creating this Welcome Message:

Full Screen

Preview

Search

Paste from Word document

Font Color

Background Color

Bookmark

Hyperlink – Allows you to change any text link into a Hyperlink

Insert Image

Insert Graph

Absolute- Add text to surround image

Insert Special Characters

Insert Line

Form Editor – Allows you to create Radio Choices, Checkboxes, Lists, etc…

Remove Formatting

View/Edit Source

Along with all of these options you can also add HTML coding to create a more custom Main Menu. This message that is edited on the Main Menu will appear for all administrators of the application, however if you would like to also create custom messages for the Students, Consultants, Faculty or Users. You can add Notices to this main menu that can only be viewed depending on the type of account that is used to log in. These Notices are Profile based, which means that whichever profile that they are created under they will be displayed for all the Centers in that profile.

You can edit these Notices by going to the Trac Navigation-> Search Glass-> Center Profiles-> Select Profile-> Prefs tab-> Notices tab-> Edit the type of Notice you want to create-> Click Save.

More Questions?

We hope that you find this newsletter helpful and as always if you have any questions on this or anyother features, please feel free to let us by emailing Helpdesk@go-redrock.com or submitting aticket. Enter any comments below.